94 - Variables Associated with Inter-individual Variation in Cerebellar Anatomy in Chimpanzees

Poster Board Number: 94
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Abstract Body : It is now well-established that the cerebellum is functionally multifaceted, contributing to cognitive, emotional, and autonomic utility alongside its more historically appreciated roles in sensorimotor and vestibular function. While emerging research is now investigating the expanded roles of the human cerebellum in healthy brain function and disease, these topics remain largely unaddressed in humans’ closest relatives, chimpanzees. Chimpanzee brain research offers insight into both the evolution of cognitive complexity in humans and provides a more closely related model system by which to understand cerebellar function and pathology. Here, we assess several metrics of inter-individual variation in chimpanzee cerebellar anatomy and relate this variation to behavioral metrics. We report (a) variability and asymmetry in cerebellar lobules, (b) lobule variation as a result of age and sex differences, and (c) correlations between cerebellar lobule variation and cognitive and behavioral differences. These results have implications for the evolvability of cerebellar lobule size, asymmetry, and plasticity and could provide insight into the evolution of cerebellar traits that make humans susceptible to neurocognitive decline that results from cerebellar pathology. Future work should assess the heritability of chimpanzee cerebellar variation in comparison to humans.